


Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree

by Redrikki



Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: 3 Things, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 05:37:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17677412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redrikki/pseuds/Redrikki
Summary: Three people who thought Peggy Carter and Edwin Jarvis were having an affair and one person who knew better.





	Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AgentMint](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentMint/gifts).



1.

Mr. Jarvis had just left the automat and Peggy was lost in thought. They’d managed to recover Howard’s stolen inventions, and now the insufferable man wanted them to smuggle him back into the country. It was beyond reckless, especially now with Chief Dooley on the warpath thanks to Agent Krzeminski’s death, but Mr. Jarvis was insistent. They must find a way to bring Howard home. Peggy was jotting down some thoughts on a napkin when Angie slid into the seat opposite her.

“Never would have figured you for a home wrecker, English.”

“I beg your pardon!”

Angie jerked her chin towards Mr. Jarvis’s recently vacated seat. “Mr. Fancy-pants there. I saw his ring while I was pouring his coffee.”

“I—we—we’re not,” Peggy sputtered. They’d specifically avoided sitting together to keep anyone from connecting them and yet Angie, an untrained waitress, had seen right through their ruse. She’d gotten entirely the wrong idea, of course, but if _she_ could put them together, so could the SSR. 

“We’re simply colleagues. There’s nothing untoward going on.” Nothing untoward at all. Merely treasonous. 

“If you say so,” Angie said, sounding like she didn’t believe a word of it. 

A customer on the far side of the room began calling for a refill and she shot him an annoyed look. “Coming!” she shouted. “Look, Peg,” she said, lower, leaning in close, “tell me, don’t tell me, just don’t get your hopes up about him leaving his wife.”

That sage bit of wisdom delivered, she grabbed her coffee pot and got back to work.

Peggy had planned to walk home with Angie at the end of her shift, but she gathered her things and headed for the door instead. Her friend had seen right through her security precautions. This business of smuggling in Howard had just become infinitely more complicated.

 

2.

A knock on the door cut Thompson off mid-interrogation. He, Chief Dooley, and Agent Sousa had been taking turns questioning her for the last few hours, but they usually let him finish a line of thought before switching off. Annoyance flickered across his face as he stepped into the hall and closed the door behind him. Peggy strained to hear what was happening. What was going on? Had one of the leads she’d handed them panned out? Had Dottie done something to reveal herself?

Thompson stepped back into the room, but he didn’t come alone. “Look who’s here to rescue you.”

“Mr. Jarvis!” Peggy surged to her feet, only to be brought up short by the cuffs tethering her to the table. What on earth was he doing here? Had he been arrested? He wasn’t in cuffs. And just what did Thompson mean about a rescue?

Mr. Jarvis’s shoulders slumped with relief at the sight of her. “Oh, Miss Carter, thank goodness you’re alright.”

“Alright, you’ve seen her,” Chief Dooley said from the hall, “now let’s do this.”

“Stay strong, Miss Carter,” Mr. Jarvis called as he was pulled from the room. “Everything is going to be fine!”

Thompson shut the door behind him. “Really, Carter? That guy?” He shook his head. “You can do better.”

“Are you implying—” Peggy cut herself off. She couldn’t afford to let him get under her skin.

Thompson smirked as he swaggered back to the table. “Well, you two did seem pretty chummy back there. Stay strong, Miss Carter,” he said in a mockery of Mr. Jarvis’s accent, “I’m here to save you.”

Peggy sniffed in distain. “An hour ago I was Howard Stark’s floozie, now I’m Mr. Jarvis’s. Do make up your mind.”

“Why not both?” Thompson asked, leaning back and spreading his hands. “You’re a real popular girl.” He leaned intently forward. “He’s spilling his guts right now to Chief Dooley. Why don’t you tell me what he’s going to say and save yourself some trouble?”

“I have no idea what he’s going to say.” 

And that, as much as anything, was what worried her.

 

3.

Daniel cornered her as she was rooting through the filing cabinet. 

“Hey, ah, Carter,” he said awkwardly, “about the drink offer the other night. You didn’t turn me down because of something I said during the interrogation, did you?”

“Not at all,” Peggy assured him. “I really did have a friend to meet…and one to say goodbye to as well.”

Pouring out Steve’s blood had been unexpectedly cathartic. A part of her would always love him, but she was done letting her grief and guilt keep her from exploring the possibilities before her. For the first time since he death, she felt free.

“You broke up?” Daniel asked, just a touch too eagerly.

“More like…let go.”

Daniel narrowed his eyes. “It wasn’t Stark, was it?”

Peggy gave a derisive snort. Hadn’t they been over this enough by now? “No.”

“The butler?”

After everything, is that what he though of her? That she was the sort of woman to carry on with a married man? “It was _Steve Rogers_ , if you must know.” She yanked the file she need from the drawer and slammed it shut. “Now, if you’re through interrogating me about my social life, some of us have work to do,” she snapped and stormed off.

She regretted her words by the time she reached her desk. She regretted them more when Daniel transferred to Los Angeles a month later.

 

+1

Peggy looked the other way as the Jarvis’ kiss went on and on. Must they keep doing that in front of her? If she didn’t know any better, she’d think Ana was trying to make a point, but Mr. Jarvis acted as if this was an everyday occurrence. She could scarcely imagine it. It must be exhausting being that in love. 

“Thank you for helping Edwin with his Judo,” Ana said as Mr. Jarvis left to slip into something a little less athletic. 

These friendly little sparing matches had become something of a routine for them. It was less proper Judo, and more of the down-and-dirty fighting Peggy had learned in the S.O.E. Under her tutelage, Mr. Jarvis really was improving, although his attire never ceased to be absolutely ridiculous. 

“You don’t mind?” Most wives would be upset to find their husband wrestling with another woman. Ana frequently came to cheer him on and offer bits of advice. She was a rare sort indeed.

“I’m quite grateful, actually,” she said as she tidied up some of the exorcise equipment. “All those throws were making my back hurt.” Her easy smile turned knowing. “I’m not worried. Not about that. I know where Edwin’s heart lies, but I also know what sort of man he is.”

“And what sort of man is that?” Peggy demanded, ready to defend her friend’s honor, even from the love of his life.

“A good one,” Ana said, “but beneath that buttoned down exterior beats a reckless heart.” She captured Peggy's hands and squeezed them tight. “Promise me, whatever adventures you drag my husband into, you’ll keep him safe.”

“Always.”


End file.
